July 11, 2018 “The Last Man” (** out of four) was an ambitious but pretentious futuristic melodrama set in yet-another “Blade Runner”-like future in which a war veteran (Hayden Christensen) with PTSD begins to think it’s apocalypse now and joins forces with a visionary messiah (Harvey Keitel) and begins the construction of an intricate underground shelter but this threatens his sanity and the stability of society as a whole. Visually hypnotic at times and has some striking individual scenes but story as a whole is too derivative and lacks momentum. Christensen is stiff in the lead but Keitel is well-cast in a good supporting role. Continue reading →
July 10, 2018 “….And Then There Was Blood” (* out of four) was an amateur-hour horror show about seven strangers (Samantha Laine Anderson, Michael Anglin, J.C. Barber, and others) who are brought out into the middle of nowhere because of sins from their pasts and they are (what else?) pursued and stalked by a group of masked murderers. Lame low-budget horror seems to have been made by someone who bought a camcorder and recorded a movie with their friends. Mercifully short at only an hour and 4 minutes but not short enough Continue reading →
July 10, 2018 “The Bleeding Game” (* out of four) was a bloody mess about three vampire-slayer sisters (Whitney Mixter, Shey Bland, and Alison Tussey) who make Buffy look and sound like a college professor by comparison that are summoned by an ancient spiirt to end the lives of a group of evil spirits that have morphed into vampires! Absolutely incoherent and stupid horror comedy makes “The Lost Boys” look like “Casablanca” by comparison. Even at only 77 minutes, this still feels padded and overlong. Continue reading →
July 9, 2018 “The Archer” (** out of four) was an overly familiar, predictable story that misses its mark about a young high-school student (Bailey Noble) who excels in archery but is railroaded on an assault charge and sent to a sadistic young women’s prison where she befriends a fellow wrong convict (Jeanine Mason) and the two escape into the wilderness and try to obtain freedom and expose the corrupt system. Not bad but not memorable or inspired or original in any way. Kurt Fuller has an amusing cameo as a strict judge. Rich music score by Paul Doucette. Continue reading →
July 8, 2018 “Face Of Evil” (*1/2 out of four) was an anemic zombie thriller in which a war vet (Scott Baxter) returns to his hometown but finds that a mysterious epidemic has infected his friends and subsequently his whole town and he finds himself on the run with a gung-ho hillbilly (Chad Bishop) as they try to solve the epidemic and stay alive. Rambling movie opens up as a rip-off of “World War Z” but then shifts gears and turns into a mindless rip-off of “Zombieland” instead. Horror filmmakers need to solve their own epidemic of not having any more original stories to tell. Continue reading →
July 8, 2018 “Mad Genius” (*1/2 out of four) was an utterly stupid futuristic melodrama about a young technical prodigy (Chris Mason) who in an attempt to fix humanity and save the world attempts “to hack the human mind” but things naturally don’t go as planned leading to numerous complications for him and for society. Mixes elements of a futuristic action thriller, teen melodrama, and social commentary but results are unpleasant and dumb. Mason is one-note in the lead. Continue reading →
July 7, 2018 “The Legacy Of A Whitetail Deer Hunter” (** out of four) was a pointless Netflix story which won’t have much of a legacy of its own about a redneck professional hunter (Josh Brolin) who goes into the wilderness with his cameraman (Danny McBride) and his young son (Montana Jordan) on his first hunting expedition. Brolin is excellent as usual and him and Jordan work well together but is there a story or a point? For a more absorbing and powerful look at similar material, watch “The Deer Hunter” or “The Mountain Men.” Continue reading →
July 7, 2018 “Intensive Care” (*1/2 out of four) was a sloppy home invasion thriller whose screenplay, acting, and direction all needed more intense care; three vicious criminals (Jai Rodriguez, Kevin Sizemore, and Jose Rosete) attempt to rob the home of an elderly dying woman (Leslie Easterbrook a long way from “Police Academy”) but her home nurse (Tina Macken) turns out to be far deadlier than they imagined and she has to hold down the fort and fight them off. Pretty desperate rip-off of “Desperate Hours” without even the saving grace of good fight scenes or scares. Place this one in I.C.U. Continue reading →
July 7, 2018 “White Fang” (*** out of four) was a sharp and lean animated remake of Jack London’s classic about the title half-breed wolf who searches for his father who has gone missing during the Gold Rush and is taken in by a crooked owner (voice of Paul Giamatti) and then by a kindly marshall and his wife (Nick Offerman and Rashida Jones). First-rate animation is beautifully stylized and drawn and is matched by an intelligent script by Serge Frydman and and Phillipe Lioret. Fine fare for kids and fans of Jack London’s book or the 1991 original with Ethan Hawke. Continue reading →
July 7, 2018 “Ant-Man and The Wasp” (*** out of four) was a solidly engaging superhero sequel showing the further adventures of Ant Man (Paul Rudd) as he has to balance being an action hero and a father but has to re-discover and resolve important issues from the past in order to help Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and also save himself. Full of cool action scenes and visual effects but what really makes this work (as was the original) is the fun interplay and chemistry between its leads and team. Final half-hour is showstopping in particular. Rudd is ideal in the lead and Douglas is perfectly cast as Dr. Hym in an amusingly ironic contrast to one of his famous earlier roles as Gordon Gekko. Continue reading →
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